Glendale missionary family leaves hearts in Peru

Chip Lamca was sick. He was in a foreign country. He was kidnapped. All he had were his wits and a Swiss army-like tool.

Thirteen years later, he’s going back and taking a group of Grand Canyon University students.

Glendale residents Chip and Julie moved to Peru in 2000 with their four children, fulfilling a lifelong dream to serve as missionaries. They lived in a good-sized northwestern city, Trujillo, and spent their days helping natives.

The family left South America after eight years and moved to Glendale, but “our hearts have always been in Peru,” Julie said.

They return often and, in recent years, have included local college students in their goodwill efforts.

The ‘kidnapping’

It had been a long day. Chip was sick and had spent the whole day in the hospital. The real scare, though, was looming.

Outside the hospital and alone, Chip waved down a taxi, got in and gave directions to the guest house where he was staying. The taxi went the wrong way. Chip knew the city and told the driver he was going the opposite direction.

“Why don’t you just shut up?” the taxi driver said, dodging the question.

Something was off. Peruvians were kind people. They never addressed others this way, especially a customer. Chip persisted.

Express kidnappings, as they were called, were on the rise in Peru. Taxi drivers would take passengers to remote locations where their partners would surround the cab and take any valuables.

Chip wracked his brain. What could he do? He was sick after all, and didn’t know if he could fight off a large group of people.

He pulled out a small, contractible tool from his pocket, opened it and pushed it in the driver’s side, stopping short of stabbing him.

He’d been taught the self-defense technique during missionary training.

The driver slowed down, cursing at Chip. The vehicle didn’t stop, though. Chip took the opportunity. He opened the door and rolled out of the slowly moving vehicle.

Now Chip is a good-sized guy. At more than 6 feet, he towers above most Peruvians who average 5 feet, 4 inches, and he weighs 250 pounds.

Chip got to his feet and started running. He didn’t stop until he reached a pharmacy, where he ran inside to safety.

The worst part, he said, was he still had to take a cab to get to the guest house. He got in the car and gave strict instructions — no back roads or shortcuts, all major roads.

Missionary life

The dangerous cab trip certainly wasn’t a normal day for Chip and Julie in Peru. In fact, Chip looks back on that evening with a sense of nonchalance. He insists he was only “sort of” kidnapped, and that the events weren’t that grave.

Rather, Peruvians were supportive, including during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war on terror that followed.

Chip stood in a cafe, staring at the TV as he learned U.S. troops had entered Afghanistan. An old man came up to Chip, and placed his arm on Chip’s shoulder.

“Gringo, I remember Pearl Harbor and I remember Hiroshima. They are going to get (those terrorists),” the man said.

It was these words of encouragement and sympathy that made living in Peru so wonderful, the Lamcas explained.

“There were hard days. There were days where I was homesick, but now I’m homesick for Peru, which is even stronger,” Chip said.

The Lamcas spent their days helping natives, building wells, providing medical care, and helping local churches.

Their goal was to spread Christianity, but they also wanted to provide for human needs.

While living in Trujillo, Chip and Julie learned that women often had to lock their children in the house all day while they were at work.

The Lamcas, with help from a local church, provided child care for the mothers. They supplied snacks for the children — more than what the children were receiving at home — and other amenities, such as toothbrushes.

“You saw the simple things you were able to do make a huge impact in peoples’ lives,” Chip said.

The couple made sure to involve their children in their missionary work and Peruvian life.

“They felt part of it, that they were doing something substantial from an early age,” Chip said.

Bryan was 12, Matthew was 9, Katie was 5, and Thomas was just 4.

One day, Chip took Katie and Thomas to the market. A group of Americans was visiting from Texas, and Chip wanted the kids to have the opportunity to speak Spanish and translate.

The Americans wanted to purchase a sweater, so Thomas, who was about 5 years old by then, began negotiating. The saleswoman said the sweater was 16 soles.

Thomas held up 10 fingers.

“Diez,” the 5-year-old said.

“This lil’ tiny gringo was bargaining with her,” Chip said.

The woman told him how good the quality was. It was made from alpaca.

Thomas insisted. He showed his 10 fingers again.

The woman brought the price down. Fourteen? Twelve? Thomas still said no.

Finally, the two settled on 10 soles. The young boy gave her a thumbs up.

Thomas later told Chip he wasn’t bargaining. He just didn’t know any numbers past 10 in Spanish.

It was this type of upbringing that made the children feel like they belonged, Chip said.

The family would later do missionary work in Ecuador, and Bryan, who was then a senior in high school, would serve food to those who lived in a city garbage dump.

The family remains close even though all the children have grown up. Thomas, the young negotiator, is a senior in high school and the only sibling that lives at home.

Chip has been teaching Christian studies at Grand Canyon University since 2009.

However, the family has never forgotten about their time in South America. They began working with the pastor of a Peoria church that helps fund missionary trips to Peru and other places abroad.

James Hayes, a pastor at the Southern Peoria Baptist Church, is the founder of the Vine and Branches, a non-profit that supports such missions.

“Their hearts were in Peru and I think that their kids’ hearts were in Peru,” Hayes said.

And thus, another chapter began.

In 2011, the Lamcas found a way to travel “home,” serve the people of Peru and involve GCU students in the process. They took seven college students on a mission trip to Peru.

The family has built on that success each year since. This spring, 14 Grand Canyon students will join the Lamcas for a 10-day mission trip to Trujillo.

“I think a lot of people think ‘Oh, I could never go on a mission trip or I could never leave the country,’” Julie said

The opposite is true. Anyone can use their unique talents to serve, she said.

One student knew how to massage, and she taught Peruvian women how to give themselves facials with an avocado.

“These ladies just ate it up. It was the first time they were treated like they were special. They left with their heads held high,” Julie said.

Hayes is excited to see the impact GCU students will make on Peruvians and vice versa.

“When people have the opportunity like Chip and Julie did, and travel abroad and spend time with indigenous people, it will change their life. It will change their perspective,” Hayes said.

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